


Two of a Kind

by Just_A_Simple_Tailor



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: M/M, Trans!Julian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-04-05 17:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19044709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_A_Simple_Tailor/pseuds/Just_A_Simple_Tailor
Summary: Julian Bashir finds himself pregnant with Garak's child. Garak takes it upon himself to move into Julian's quarters to help and support him through the pregnancy but soon starts exhibiting some strange symptoms himself. How will the two make it through this new turn of events and how long will it take before the rest of the station finds out?





	1. Chapter 1

Julian Bashir anxiously stared at the medical computer, awaiting the results of his test, hoping that it was negative. A few moments later the computer dinged, and a display popped up. There was no doubt about it, Julian was pregnant. And there was no doubt about who was the father.

Julian couldn’t believe it. He had only had sex with Garak once, about a month ago and their relationship was only just beginning to blossom after Garak’s drunken confession after a particularly bad panic attack. And now he was going to have Garak’s child. How was he even supposed to tell him. Garak barely talked about his own father, nor had Julian and after seeing him interact with Tain, Julian could see parental issues in Garak that he was afraid of adopting, just as Julian had. How would two men trying not to become their terrible parents ever be good fathers? Julian put his hand to his stomach. He sighed. It was Garak’s child too. He would have to tell him.

“Excuse me you’re WHAT?” Garak exclaimed as he and Julian were having lunch at the replimat.

“I’m pregnant.” Julian said defeatedly. “And it’s yours.”

“Are-are you SURE?” Garak asked.

“Garak you’re the only person I’ve had sex with in the past YEAR, it could only be you.”

Garak looked aghast, fear in his eyes, but he quickly smoothed his expression. “Well it seems we both have some preparations to do, my dear doctor. Excuse me, but I must take care of something.” 

He quickly grabbed his tray and stood out of his chair nearly knocking it over and almost ran out of the replimat leaving Julian looking dejectedly at the empty space he had left. That was not the reaction he had hoped for, but it was the reaction he had expected. He should have been more careful. He should have recognized that there was still a chance, even with the hormones he had been given and taken precautions instead of rushing into it. And now Garak was running from him. He didn’t know if he could raise this child alone, and being half Cardassian, one it was born, everyone would know who the other father was; while there were other Cardassians on the station, it wouldn’t be too hard to guess which one it was. He sighed and picked up his tray to take back to the replicator. He didn’t like it but he would have to survive. For the two of them.

The rest of the day fortunately was rather routine, and Julian actually felt a bit better, a bit more hopeful as he left the infirmary and headed over to his quarters. He was surprised to find his door already unlocked, and even more surprised to see not only Garak, but many of Garak’s belongings crowding into his quarters.

“Garak! What the hell are you doing in here!”

“Isn’t it obvious doctor? I am moving into your quarters at LEAST until our child is born. After all, someone needs to take care of you, especially now that you are going to bear another life in.. how many months do your humans’ pregnancies last? Nine months? Nine months.”

“Julian stared silently at Garak, emotions welling up inside him forming tears in the corners of his eyes.”

“Doctor… are you alright?” Garak asked, concern in his voice.

“I… I though you were going to leave me alone” Julian eventually got out, tears now running down his face.

“Well I suppose I see why you might expect that but its nothing to shed tears over.”

Julian ran over to Garak and wrapped his arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.  
“Y-yes it iiiiissssss.”

Garak sighed and patted him on the back. What was it with humans sometimes? Their emotions had a tendency to confound him.

“Well doctor, when you finish your emotional outburst, I could use some help getting all of my belongings set up in your quarters. It is a bit of a large job after all.”

“Yes… of course.” Julian said wiping his eyes. “I’m sorry Garak, I don’t know what came over me.”

“Well, I don’t know much about human physiology, but can I surmise that it might be the pregnancy?”

“I don’t know, I suppose it could be.” Julian sniffed.

“Well then, I certainly am glad that I am not the one who is pregnant.” Garak said. “Now come, we have much work to do.”

A few weeks had gone by and Garak was finally settled into Julian’s quarters. The two of them had decided to keep the pregnancy a secret for as long as possible, especially the fact that Garak was the father of the child. When anyone asked why Garak had moved in, they explained it away as Julian trying to help Garak with his panic attacks; that it would be better to have someone nearby to help him when they happened. Of course no one believed that lie and there was quite a bit of speculation over exactly why Garak had moved in. It was Jadzia who had guessed correctly, that Garak and Julina were having a baby, but she kept quiet, there was no need to let people know if the two of them wanted to keep it a secret. At least until it became more obvious and started to affect Julian for the worst. And something did begin to happen. At least slowly. 

Garak spent much of his free time learning about human pregnancy, so when Julian began to get morning sickness, he was right there with an anti-nausea medication. He was there at all hours of the day to get anything Julian began to crave, however gross it seemed. And when Julian got upset about something silly, Garak just sighed and waited for the emotions to pass. But Garak suddenly began acting strangely as well. 

Jadzia had come to Julian’s quarters for tea, and secretly to check that he was still doing ok and that not interference was needed… yet. She was surprised when Garak opened the door and even more surprised at the guttural “HSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS” that came out of his mouth when he saw who it was. Did Garak just HISS at her?

“Umm hello Garak, I thought you would still be at the shop today.”

“I decided to stay home.” Garak said. Something about his voice sounded… different. It was a bit lower, and less cheery than his normal tone.  
“  
Well I’m here for tea with Julian. Is he here yet.”

Garak’s expression darkened. “No. Not yet.’ He said shortly. “You should leave.”

Suddenly, Julian came around the corner. “Ah! Jadzia” Julian said brightly. “My apologies I got caught up in the med lab. I’ll get the tea started come on in.”

Garak moved aside as Julian entered the doorway, but blocked Jadzia.

“Garak…” Julian said, “Jadzia needs to be let in, we planned this date a week ago.”  
Garak didn’t move.

“Garak!”  
Garak stood back… and closed and locked the door. 

“Garak what are you doing?”

“No one should be allowed in here. It’s not safe for the baby.”

“What do you mean it’s not safe for the baby Jadzia’s a friend!”

Garak growled and stood in front of Julian

“Bloody hell, you know I can’t just spend all my time with YOU!” Julian yelled. “Unlike you I actually have more than one friend!” Tears were welling up in his eyes. “You never let me spend time with ANYONE ELSE and I’m sick of it!” Julian started to sob.

Garak stood back, shocked at the emotional outburst and shook his head as if to clear his mind. “My apologies doctor, I don’t know what came over me. There look it’s ok, I’ll head over to my shop and you have tea with Lieutenant Dax.”

Julian sniffed and nodded and Garak clasped his hands and put them over his heart. He held them there for a second, and then dropped them, unlocking the door and moving past Jadzia, a confused expression on his face. What had come over him. Sure he was careful to the point that some people considered him paranoid but Julian and Dax were good friends and he trusted her enough to have normal interactions with her. The only time he had seen anyone become that territorial over a living space it had been a Cardassian woman who was pregnant. But that was silly. It was biologically impossible for Garak to get pregnant why would he be experiencing these symptoms. He sighed, confused and began to walk quickly to the promenade. He’d have to stop at the replimat. For some reason, he was craving chocolate covered insect carapaces. It was a weird thing to want to eat, hopefully the replicators would be able to make them.


	2. Harsh Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changes are happening to both Julian and Garak and tension is starting to form between them. Odo has to intervene. Garak is confused as to why his emotions are all over the place and why he is acting abnormal. Sure it makes sense that Julian is acting a bit different but why him?

Garak wasn’t sure what had come over him the past few weeks. He had caused several incidents that had left Julian either sobbing or angry and not speaking to him for days at a time. It seemed that as Julian’s pregnancy went on, he became more emotional and combative. But it seemed like it only happened in their quarters, he was able to hold himself together at work in the infirmary. Garak, on the other hand had less outbursts in total, but would also have them outside of Julian’s quarters. He found himself getting irritable when a customer would stay even a few seconds past the time the shop was supposed to close, and found himself not even opening the shop to begin with and staying in Julian’s quarters, or even worse, following Julian around not only when he was off duty, but in the infirmary as well. That was the one time when Julian cracked in public.

Garak had be hanging around the infirmary for a few hours by that time, and was pacing back and forth while Julian was at the medical computer. He had a sour grimace on his face, but he did not notice.

“Garak can you get out of here? You’re scaring the patients”

“And how may I ask, am I scaring them. Walking back and forth in a straight line is not scary”

“Maybe so, but the look on your face is”

“What look?”

“Oh don’t say you don’t notice, this look.” Julian mimicked the expression Garak had had on his face for the past two hours. “ There’s an old Earth saying: Don’t keep making that face or it’ll freeze that way. I’m starting to think it might be true.”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous my dear doctor my face is perfectly mobile, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be able to have this insane argument with you.”

“Why are you even here? You’re not sick or injured, and there’s no one you’re close to that is, there’s no logical need for you to be in the infirmary.”

Garak stopped pacing at that comment. Why _was_ he in the infirmary? On a normal day, he would be working in his shop at this time. Not something he preferred, but it was necessary. He closed his eyes, going deep in thought. He knew he _felt_ he had to be there, it was an instinct, an almost primal urge. But _why?_ Suddenly it hit him: it was because Julian was there. Something inside him said he had to protect Julian from… something. But he couldn’t tell the doctor _that_. Quickly, quickly he must think up a lie, he couldn’t admit that Julian was a weakness. Wait… Ah ha! Perfect!

“Why doctor, didn’t you know? I’m watching to see which patients come in here, I was told that there was one who was carrying some very vital information about the Obsidian Order.”

“Nice try Garak,” Julian said. “You forget it’s rather easy for me to tell when you’re lying. Now seriously, what’s the real reason.

Garak snorted defensively, “Why really doctor did you actually think that I wouldn’t be able to call your bluff? Contrary to popular belief I _do_ tell the truth every once in a while.”

“If you don’t tell me the real reason, Garak, I’m going to have to force you to leave.

Garak’s lips curled into a snarl “ Well you are accurate in using the word ‘force’ my dear.”

Odo was working on some paperwork for the newest inmates locked up in the security office when his com badge went off.

“Bashir to security” he heard Doctor Bashir nearly yell, and then what sounded like a chair being thrown. “Please come down to the infirmary…. Garak for the love of the universe I already told you to-“ and then the com cut off.

Odo furrowed his brow, surprised. He would never have thought of the potential of Garak and Bashir actually _fighting_. Arguing sure, but in a civilized manner. What was going on?

He motioned to the nearby security officer who had just handed him a PADD  come with him and headed to the infirmary.

When he arrived he saw Bashir’s head nurse looking frantic right outside the entrance. She ran up to him. “I don’t know what got into them,” she said. They were in the office together and all of a sudden I heard shouting and when I went to check, Doctor Bashir yelled at me to get out. I’ve never heard him actually _shout_ before.”

“I’ll take a look, just stay here,” Odo said reassuring her. Taking a breath, he and the security officer entered the infirmary and were taken aback by unintelligible shouting. Two voices.

Garak and Bashir were really going at it. Both shouting at the same time and motioning at each other. There were a few objects scattered around the side Julian was on.

“Alright that’s enough… I said that’s ENOUGH both of you.”

The two of them stopped, falling silent and looked at Odo, Garak clenching his fists.

“Now what in the _world_ is going on here?”

Julian and Garak looked at each other.

“Nothing… Odo” Julian finally said staring at the ground. “Please don’t tell anyone about this, it won’t happen again.”

Were there… tears welling up in his eyes?

“Garak?” Odo asked in the tone of a fed up parent after breaking up a siblings’ quarrel.

“Right, nothing” Garak said gruffly, and then shaking his head and gathering himself looked up at Odo with that familiar shit eating grin on his face. “Just a friendly disagreement that got a little out of hand, constable, there’s no need to worry about us. Although for our next debate I suppose we will have to be a bit more friendly to the furniture. We’ll both be _much_ more careful next time he said looking pointedly at Julian.

Odo sighed. There was something obviously going on between the two of them, well,  more so than the norm but it _was_ their business And Garak was a civilian who was technically neither Federation nor Bajoran. “Very well, but if it happens again I am going to have to tell Captain Sisko.” And with that, he turned and left the two of them staring at his back.

“My apologies my dear doctor but I am afraid that I have business to attend to. No hard feelings, I assume?”

Julian shook his head, as if to center himself. “No, or course not Garak. See you at dinner?”

“I _wouldn’t_ miss it.”

Garak had left the infirmary deep in thought. What was happening to him? Not only did he just have an argument with his dear doctor about something _incredibly_ stupid, but he was strangely craving fish juice mixed but cold, and mixed with cinnamon and vanilla. What kind of beverage even _was_ that? And when he got back to Julian’s quarters he began busying himself with putting the same security measures on Julian’s door as were on his own, but not for his sake; for _Julian’s_. For some reason, he has a desperate need to protect these quarters from literally everyone but him and Julian. It made no sense, he was used to being called paranoid, but even he knew that this was taking things too far. He hated the thought of it, but he was going to have to ask Dr. Bashir to give him a check-up; If he was going to be a father soon, he needed to be healthy for both Julian, and the baby.


	3. A Strange Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garak actually agrees to a physical but his eventual test results are very strange and do not make sense. He is also becoming more stressed and paranoid due to these confusing events, but Julian is there to comfort.

Julian was very surprised when Garak had requested a physical. Normally getting Garak to even THINK about going to the infirmary was like pulling teeth.

“Oh, ok, but I have to ask, why the sudden change of heart? You never want me to look over you.”

“Well, I just figured that… well the baby…”

“I see… Well, I suppose I shouldn’t look the gift horse in the mouth.”

Garak looked at him perplexed.

“It’s an old Terran, oh never mind, I’ll see you at 13:00”

Julian had spent the past two hours reconfiguring the medical computer to work for Cardassian biology. Garak being the only Cardassian on the station did have its downsides. He had also gone over all the Federation information on Cardassian biology that he could, the refresher would be useful. So when Garak walked into the infirmary, he felt ready for whatever would come his way. Unfortunately he couldn’t be more wrong.

Garak had a grimace on his face, but he did comply with everything Julian asked him to do with no complaint.

“Well, everything seems normal,” Julian said, you’ve gained quite a few pounds since I checked you out last, but that was around three months ago. I’d suggest to lay off the chocolates.” And then the tricorder beeped.

“What the… huh, you seem to have a spike in adrenaline, but no other signs of fear or nervousness, as well as some minor spikes in a  few other hormones. I don’t think there’s any need to worry, but im going to do some bloodwork just in case. Here…” Julian pulled out a hypo and drew some of Garak’s blood from his arm. Before he could stop himself, Garak hissed. Julian jerked back. “Well it’s over _now_ ” he said grumpily. “I’ll get the results back by sometime tomorrow, I’m going to do a full workup just in case. I think you’ll be fine, there’s no need to worry.” Julian said comfortingly. “Well, that’s all I needed, you can go now.”

Garak quickly hopped up off of the exam table and pulled on his shirt, hurrying out the door. Well that had gone worse than expected, there really could be something wrong with him. He had preemptively closed his shop before coming to the infirmary so he went straight to Julian’s-slash-his quarters, locked the door and began to gather all the various pillows and blankets in the room as well as his yarn and knitting needles. When Julian arrived home from his shift. He found Garak sitting on the bed in a pile of blankets and pillows knitting a onesie, with two hats and no less than five small booties scattered around him.

“You’ve been… busy” Julian said.

“Well we can’t let the child get cold; they’ll be half Cardassian after all.” Garak said, “And ever since your Federation took over this station, the environment has been _freezing._

Julian went over and wrapped his arms around Garak’s shoulders, kissing his neck. Garak shivered as goosebumps ran down his back and leaned into Julian’s warm embrace.

“They’ll be _fine”_ Julian whispered gently. “You’ve survived after all haven’t you.”

“Mmmph.”

“Come, let’s put the needles away; you’ll have more than enough time to make our child plenty of clothes at this pace.”

Passively, as if giving in, Garak dropped the knitting needles that were held in his fists and buried his face into Julian’s chest. Julian pulled him closer and kissed him again, and Garak kissed him back, a little less gently this time, a bit more longingly.

“I suppose you’re right doctor, but we _do_ have some time before dinner.”

 

Julian had been going over the results of Garak’s blood tests for two hours when nurse Jabara walked in. “What’s going on with this patient?”

“I’m not sure, that’s what I’ve spent the past two hours trying to figure out.”

“Cardassian?”

“Yes it’s… yes.” Julian decided against telling her that it was Garak.”

“Anything else abnormal?”

“Oh.. um… overly protective… of both their home, and uh… certain people, craving strange food items, even for a Cardassian… and, erm knitting clothing obsessively.”

“Baby clothes?”

“YES! I- I mean how did you know?

“Well, based on the test results and the symptoms you’ve described it seems like your Cardassian’s pregnant.”

“But that’s impossible! They’re a male, he can’t get pregnant.”

“Have you ever heard of a sympathetic pregnancy?”

“Um, yes but..”

“Sometimes, it happens to the father. I suppose, he doesn’t have a partner who’s pregnant does he?”

Julian couldn’t speak, all he could do was open and close his mouth and nod his head.

“Well tell Garak congratulations for me,” Jabra said with a smile as she turned to leave. “And congratulations to you too, Doctor, I know it’s probably hard but I’m happy for you… and don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.”

Jabra left the room, leaving a very surprised and confused Julian Bashir in her wake, still trying to speak.

 


	4. What is UP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Julian tells Garak he is suffering from a sympathetic pregnancy, the rest of the crew is wondering what the heck is going on with the two of them. The various discussions turns from theory to theory and who knows how long it will take before the two of them are found out.

“So you’re saying _I’m_ pregnant? My dear doctor, I’m afraid to report that that’s a physical impossibility.”

“A _sympathetic_ pregnancy, Garak.” Julian replied. It just mean’s that you’re displaying symptoms of a pregnancy due to my own. Your body is reacting to my pregnancy by producing the hormones and such that a Cardassian would produce if pregnant.”

“Well that would explain quite a bit” Garak muttered under his breath.

“What was that, Garak?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing, I was just considering your hypothesis.”

“Well, I’d say It’s more than a hypothesis,” Julian said, “the medical data fully shows signs of pregnancy in you, but as you said, that is a physical impossibility.”

“Than what, pray, do we do about it.”

“There’s not really much we can do, you just need to be aware of yourself, so that you do not cause any more scenes?”

“Don’t you mean ‘we’ doctor?”

“Yes, I suppose ‘we’ _would_ be more accurate.” Julian said, sighing.

“And what are _we_ going to do about telling people about this?”

“I want to keep it a secret as long as possible,” Julian replied, “Of course it will be obvious whose it is when I give birth, but there’s no need to tell anyone for the time being.”

“I agree,” Garak said, “My lips, are sealed.”

 

Everyone on the station, however, had been talking and hypothesizing about Garak moving into Julian’s quarters, as well as the strange behavior exhibited by both of them. Quark was already taking bets on which person would be right about the reasons for these sudden changes, and it was Jadzia, who ended up being closest. She having lunch with Captain Sisko, talking to him, perplexedly as to why Julian had been avoiding her.

“It’s the strangest thing, Benjamin,” She said, “And I’m worried about him. It was Garak who was trying to get me away from him at first, but then Julian started making excuses as to why we could not meet up for dinner or tea, and then he started avoiding altogether.”

“Do you think that Garak is abusing him?” Sisko asked, “Because that is unacceptable and I’ll put a stop to it right away.”

“No,” Jadzia said, it’s different than that. “It’s almost like… When Kang’s wife was pregnant with Dax, he became very possessive of her, he’d barely let anyone near her, even Curzon- Of course he apologized after. And there’s just something very familiar about Garak’s behavior.”

“So you think Julian may be pregnant?”

“I mean he’s gained a bit of weight lately, and he’s normally so active, playing tennis with Chief O’Brien. I think I also saw him crying in the infirmary the other day, and Julian never cries.”

“Well that’s barely any evidence to go on.” Sisko replied.

“I know, I just have a feeling.”

 

“Who knows, maybe he just got too good for me,” Miles O’Brien said bitterly, “He’s got Garak now.” Miles almost spit out the name.

O’Brien and Odo had also been talking about Julian and Garak. Julian had been refusing to go to the holodeck with Miles, and he was confused and hurt.

“I highly doubt that,” Odo said, “Although I do agree that there is something going on. “

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t have enough information to form a hypothesis. You solids are all so confusing anyway.”

“That’s what you always say.”

Suddenly, Kira came up to Odo.

“Have you seen what Quark’s been doing?”

“Oh, what now, Major?” Odo sighed, exasperated.

“He’s taking bets on what’s going on with Julian and Garak. So far he’s got…” Kira checked the PADD she was holing, “Plans to elope, marriage, one of them is fully controlling the other, Garak has inaugurated Julian into the Obsidian order…. and one that he heard from Dax: that one of them is pregnant.”

“Hmmph.” Odo snorted, “Unfortunately I can’t do anything about Quark taking bets, only if he’s somehow rigging them.” He turned to O’Brien, “But those are quite interesting theories.”

“Oh not you too!” Kira said, “don’t you think that they deserve some privacy?”

“I never thought that you’d feel that way about Garak,” Odo replied.

“I don’t. But I do about Julian.”

“It’s only natural to wonder,” O’Brien protested, “It was such a sudden change, don’t you think Odo? …Odo?”

“Odo had suddenly become lost in though. “You know that actually makes sense…” He muttered.

“What does?” Kira asked.

Odo looked up, having been pulled out of his reverie.

“When the station was occupied by the Cardassian Empire,” He said, “I had to solve quite a few disputes between some Cardassians when one of them was pregnant. Both between the couples, as well as when the woman was being very protective of her quarters and her mate. I solved a dispute between the  Doctor and Garak that was very similar and Dax had mentioned that she had gotten in an altercation with Garak about spending time with him and even coming into his quarters.”

“So you’re saying Garak’s pregnant, “Kira said, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, constable but that’s a physical impossibility.”

“But it isn’t with Dr. Bashir,” Odo said, “And you know how paranoid Garak is: Cardassians are family oriented you’d think he’d be very overprotective with his new child.”

“That would explain a lot…” Miles said slowly. “Julian hasn’t wanted to play tennis recently either, and normally he’s very excited to play… even if I’m not all that formidable of an opponent.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see,” Odo said, “If they haven’t come out with it now, I doubt either of them will say anything until the theoretical baby is actually born.”

Rumor spread easily on Deep Space Nine and it did not take very long for the chief officers as well as Captain Sisko to all come together with the conclusion that Julian was pregnant. Julian and Garak however, were so oblivious due to their own precautions and fear, that they lived in happy ignorance of the fact for weeks. But then as Julian reached the second trimester, his uniform began to get tighter and tighter, and his quarters began to be so filled with baby clothes that they were running out of room to hide them all. It was more and more obvious to the rest of the crew that Julian was pregnant, and soon the secret would fully come out.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, so another short chapter. For some reason I just write short bits at a time and upload them right away as long as they fit together. Weird.


	5. What am I Really?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As his pregnancy moves forward, Julian's dysphoria is starting to get the better of him. Garak is there to help. Also: 3D ultrasound, what does the baby look like and what drama will ensue about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm and enby AFAB and I pretty much based Julian's dysphoria on my own, and the paranoia that I feel when i start to become dysphoric, as well as how I would feel dysphoria-wise if I were to go through a pregnancy. 
> 
> Garak's response is pretty much what I need to be said to me, what I need to feel validated in my own gender identity when I get this way. 
> 
> Of course, everyone's experience with being trans is different, and we all may not feel dysphoria the same way so how I feel might not be the same as how another trans person may feel or identify.

Julian stood in front of the bathroom mirror in his underwear, staring at his extended belly. He was really starting to come along now and he _hated_ it. Sure, he was excited to have his child, but his pregnant belly made him feel so… so _feminine_. He was already what Jadzia lovingly referred to as a “twink” and the way she explained it made it seem like he wasn’t really what would be considered very masculine to begin with. Now he looked obviously pregnant, and that was something for _women_ not men.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Julian dear,” came Garak’s voice from the other side. “Are you going to be ready soon? It’s almost time to get the 3d ultrasound, you’ve been looking forward to this for _weeks_!”

Julian groaned. “I’m going to reschedule it,” He called back, “ I don’t want to leave our quarters today.”

Garak opened the door, peering in. “My dear doctor whatever is the matter?”

“It’s nothing Garak, I’m just tired today is all.”

Garak frowned but said nothing. If anyone knew about not wanting to tell the whole truth it was him. Julian would tell him when he was ready, or Garak would figure it out on his own.

“Well at least get dressed, you can’t sit around in your underwear all day, you’ll catch cold.”

“Watch me,” Julian muttered, “Besides that’s a myth anyway.”

But he did come out of the bathroom, over to his dresser and threw on a shirt.

“Well beggars can’t be choosers,” Garak said under his breath as he went over and wrapped his arms around Julian’s shoulders, kissing his neck.

Julian looked over Garak’s arms and into the room. “You’ve been nesting again,” he said.

“Well you were in the bathroom for a long time, I had to make the room comfortable.”

“Comfortable” certainly was one way to put it. The bed they now shared was a huge jumble of pillows and blankets, all laid about in a way that seemed to have some order, but not in a pattern that Julian could decipher. There were also smaller nests of blankets strewn across the room and yarn and baby clothes covered most surfaces. Small piles of food were hidden away in various corners. These jumbles of soft items and food product had been increasing in number in the past months, as had the amount of blankets on the bed until the room really had started to look like a nest of some sort. If Garak hadn’t already refused to allow anyone to enter their quarters at least until the baby was born, Julian would be the one to do it.

Garak gave Julian a brief squeeze and began puttering around the living room. Would you like some tea, Doctor that should certainly help you relax.” Before Julian could answer Garak had already gone over to the replicator and said “Chamomile tea, two lumps of sugar, hot.” The steaming cup of tea appeared almost instantaneously and Garak brought it over to Julian.

“There you are, my dear doctor, just the way you like it.”

Julian sighed and took it. Tea was not exactly what he wanted at that moment in time, but there was no use arguing about it. He sat down on the one open place on the couch that he had refused to allow Garak to cover and held the cup in both hands, absorbing its warmth, and falling into a reverie.

 

His dysphoria had been increasing as his pregnancy went on, but this week had been particularly bad. He had faced dysphoria a few other times on the station; even after he had transitioned to the amount he wanted it would still pop up every once in a while -the sinking feeling that he wasn’t enough of a man- and he had gone to Jadzia for help. While she wasn’t actually transgender, Dax having lived through the lives of multiple genders over the years made her the friend on the station that had an experience that most closely resembled his own. And while Jadzia could never completely understand what he felt, she had always helped. But now he couldn’t go to her. He couldn’t let her know he was pregnant, at least not yet.

Because of the hormones cause by the pregnancy, as well as the fact that he had to be off some hormones in order for the baby to be safe, his body had become much more feminine, even without an obviously pregnant stomach. Fortunately his face had stayed the same, but the fat in the rest of his body had redistributed and every time he looked in the mirror he saw a body that was not his own. He felt like a stranger in his clothing, it didn’t align to his measurements any more. He was extremely paranoid that someone would notice and comment on it, or even worse, misgender him if they saw him from the back. He hadn’t been misgendered since early high school; if it happened now, it felt like he would cry, or angrily snap at the offender. Even being pregnant in general innately made him feel like he was in the wrong body and it was so painful that it was getting harder and harder to take.

 

Suddenly Garak’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. “Doctor… my dear… Julian!” he sounded worried.

Julian looked up at him and realized there were tears running down his face.

“Doctor, you’re crying, please tell me what’s wrong.”

Suddenly Julian couldn’t take it anymore and started to sob. “I… I just… I’m not a real man Garak!” Julian finally got out

“What are you talking about? Of course you are dear.”

“I’m not man enough… I’ll never be man enough!”

Taken aback, Garak gently took the now cold tea from his hands and pulled him close to him.

“Where is this coming from, I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Being pregnant…” Julian got out after a moment, “it… it’s given me a body that doesn’t match… and I _hate_ it. It makes me paranoid, that I’ll never be able to truly be who I really am.”

“I’m sure that hurts dear, and I do indeed understand a little of  how you feel… but I never completely will be able to. And I know this may not help, but I promise that, pregnant or not, you are 100% man and you always will be no matter what you look like. And I’m _certain_ that everyone else on the station feels that way too.

"It took me a while to learn this myself, and I do have a feeling you know deep inside as well, but feminity and masculinity, and even if you can get pregnant or not, don’t in any way determine your gender. You’re a man, and you will always be a man, no matter what. Please, do believe that, dear.”

Julian began to cry harder at that, and buried his head into Garak’s chest. Garak squeezed him tightly and kissed his hair. Then they both looked up.

“Doctor… did I just feel what I thought I felt?”

“So it wasn’t just my imagination?”

Julian grabbed Garak’s hand and put it on his stomach. They both waited, expectantly. Then, a few moments later, there it was again.

Garak and Julian looked up at each other, both with an enormous grin on their face.

“Our child…” Garak said, “They kicked”

 

Julian’s dysphoria never completely went away for the rest of the pregnancy, but Garak more frequently referred to him as his “man”, and was always there when the nagging feeling came back into Julian’s mind questioning if he truly was. It may not have been a lot, but it did help some.

 

A few days later, they were in a private room in the infirmary with Jabara, the only member on the station who knew Julian was pregnant (or so they though), to do the ultrasound.

Julian sat patiently while Jabara calibrated the scanner, but Garak was pacing around the small room, knocking everything over, swearing in Cardassian, picking what he knocked over up, and repeating the process, ignoring Julian’s pleas to keep still.

“Alright,” Jabara said, “Are you two ready?”

“Finally!” Garak said.

“He means ‘yes’” Julian said jabbing Garak’s stomach with his finger.

“Okay then, here we go.”

Jabara put the scanner over Julian’s stomach and after a few moments a small humanoid form popped up.

Julian and Garak gasped in delight. The child’s ridges were visible, but less pronounced than on a normal Cardassian, and the head was covered in thick tufts of curly hair, some covering the forehead ridges. And there was one more unexpected feature that made Julian frown.

“Garak. Is that what I think it is? And why don’t you have it?”

“Oh dear,” Garak sighed, “I was worried you were going to ask me about that.


	6. A Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It turns out Julian and Garak's child has a certain Cardassian trait that is augmented during infancy. Due to his own augmentations, Julian feels very strongly about this, and although outcasted, does not want his child to be without status. The two of them turn to Jadzia and Odo for advice

“Garak our child has a _tail_!” Julian was almost shouting. “I have never seen a Cardassian with a tail!”

“W-well you see doctor…” Garak began hesitantly, “Almost all Cardassians get their tail removed in infancy. It’s like when humans used to, oh what’s the word…. Right when humans used to circumcise their male children. We do it around six months of age.”

“Well we’re certainly not doing it to _our_ child. It’s absolutely barbaric!”

“Doctor, a Cardassian has no status with a tail. They are considered of a lower class. Why do you think Tain did it to me? I was a bastard already and he _still_ did it, that’s how important tail clipping is in our society!”

“I don’t _CARE_!” Julian was getting louder and more upset.

“Dear, please you’re shouting.”

“Stop! Don’t you tell me what to do! I can’t believe you kept this from me!” Julian turned toward the door and stormed out of the room, ignoring Garak’s pleas for him to come back.

Garak swore under his breath and gritting his teeth, turned to Jabara. “Thank you for your time, nurse.” He said keeping his temper under wraps. “My apologies for our other father’s behavior I’m sure it will not happen again.”

“Of course, any time,” Jabara said smiling slyly. This was real drama, the best she’d seen on the station in a long time, and she had a front row seat.

Nodding to her, Garak in turn left the infirmary and headed toward his shop. Julian would most likely be angry for a while, and it would be best to give him time to cool off. He was deep in thought, on the walk there, pondering the future of his child. He loved Julian, but could he _really_ let his child keep their tail. Sure he was outcasted but that didn’t mean that his offspring shouldn’t be able to keep their dignity. But on the other hand Julian had reacted extremely strongly to the idea of tail clipping, and Garak did not believe that it was the effects of the pregnancy. The anger was too sharp, and he didn’t cry, but seethed with rage. There must be a reason, but for once in his life, Garak had no idea what it was.

Fully distracted. Garak was in no way paying attention to his surroundings, and not seeing Odo, coming around the corner, crashed right into him.

“Garak-” Odo said sternly. But seeing the look on his face stopped. “Garak what’s wrong?” he asked, more gently this time. “Is it Dr. Bashir?”

Garak sighed, “It’s complicated, Odo, like everything seems to have been lately.”

“Why don’t we get some coffee? Come.”

Garak didn’t respond, but he did silently follow Odo to the replimat.

 

Julian walked blindly though the halls of the station, and was so angry he didn’t hear Jadzia calling him. She had to run to catch up.

“Julian,” she said, grabbing his shoulder, “I’ve been looking for you!”

“What is it Jadzia,” Julian said, exasperated.

Dax frowned at Julian’s tone and the look om his face but continued. “So… she began, grinning. First of all congratulations are in order.”

“W-what do you mean, I didn’t do anything?” Julian was startled at the question.

“Oh, come on now Julian we all know you’re going to have a baby with Garak, it’s so obvious.”

“How did… it was Jabara wasn’t it… she _said_  she wouldn’t tell anyone!”

“She didn’t tell anyone anything,” Jadzia said soothingly, “We all figured it out on our own. And now that you’re starting to _show_ it’s even more obvious.”

“Oh…” Julian said dejectedly, “We were trying to keep it a secret, you know until the baby was actually born.”

“That’s kind of a hard thing to do, trust me. I’ve had enough children to know that. But…” Jadzia brightened, “The good news is that Benjamin approved for you to wear a maternity… er _paternity_ uniform _weeks_ ago.  Here’s the pattern for it,” She handed him a data stick, “Have Garak make a few for you, you’ll be much more comfortable.”

“Erm, thanks. But I don’t think I’ll be talking to Garak for a while.”

“What happened? No, wait come to my quarters, we’ll discuss it over some tea.”

 

Jadzia’s quarters were always so comfortable. They were a bit eccentric, but Julian liked eccentricity, he was with Garak after all. Settled in with a warm cup of tea, Jadzia put her elbows on the table and rested her head on her fists.

“So… tell me the details.”

“We had the first ultrasound for our baby,” Julian began, “ And our child looked so perfect, they had traits of both Garak and I, they had no defects and seemed perfectly healthy. But then I noticed.. They had a _tail_!”

“What?” Jadzia exclaimed, “ _No_ ”

“Apparently all Cardassian’s are born with tails… but in infancy they _cut them off!”_

“Ah, I see the problem.”

“No kidding,” Julian said dryly. “ I’m _not_ cutting off their tail.. after what my parents did to me, I promised that I would never _ever_ alter my child, either mentally or physically for a non-harmful trait without their consent. But _Garak_ doesn’t want a child with no _status_. He’s already an outcast what does it matter if they have status or not?”

Jadzia took a breath. “I agree with you…”

“Well _thank_ you-“

“Wait! I’m not finished. Because you also need to understand that Garak is first of all, still a Cardassian outcasted or not. And your c _hild_ is going to be half Cardassian. Did you ever consider that he’s trying to look out  for them just in case they ever go back to one of their fatherlands? He said Cardassians with a tail have no status. Now, consider what might happen to a half Cardassian with a tail if they visited Cardassia.”

Julian paused, the expression on his face turning from angry, to realization, to fear, to sadness, to regret.

“Oh, my god… you’re right…..” he finally got out. “Excuse me Jadzia, but I need to apologize to Garak.”

Julian rushed out of the room, the unfinished tea almost spilling from its cup as the chair clattered against the table. Jadzia smiled and slowly shook her head. “Maybe I should start charging,” she thought, chuckling to herself and turned to put the tea supplies back into the replicator.

 

Garak and Odo had arrived at the replimat, Odo shape-shifting a raktijino into his hand, Garak with the real thing.

“Now,” Odo said, getting straight to the point. “What is lying so heavily on your mind?”

Garak told Odo about his and Julian’s child, the child having a tail, and Julian’s surprise, and his indignation about Cardassian tails being cut.

“…But what he does not understand, and what he did not hear because he stormed out of the infirmary so quickly, is that it is _dangerous_ for a Cardassian to have no status. I may not be allowed in Cardassia at the moment but our child will be.

“If they ever want to go there, or even if they end up there on accident, they could be in danger. They could be arrested for a completely insignificant crime, and they would not have access to legal counsel, they could get mobbed and beaten by extremist groups, the list goes on. I am simply trying to protect them!”

“Because tails are signs of rejects and bastards…” Odo said slowly, “Subjects who are perceived to have no benefit to the state. I have seen that happened in a few cases on Terok Nor.

“But you have to understand….” Odo continued, “Dr. Bashir has been significantly altered, and I have come to believe that a lot of the time he wishes that it had never happened. That may be why he feels so strongly about this.”

Garak’s eyes widened, “Oh my, I didn’t think about that,” He almost whispered, “what have I done… excuse me.” Garak stood up and went in the direction of his and Julian’s quarters. He didn’t know where Julian would be, but he would have to return home at some point.

 

Julian and Garak arrived at their quarters at almost the same time.

“Julian”

“Garak”

They said at simultaneously

“I… No you first.”

They both grinned, despite themselves.

“I’ll go,” Julian said finally. “I just.. I was so angry, I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m _so_ sorry I didn’t even consider that you were trying to… trying to… _protect_ them.”

 Garak pulled Julian into his arms.

“I know dear.” He said softly into Julian’s neck, kissing his warm skin. “And I’m sorry too, I forgot how painful the concept of your own augmentations can be to you. We don’t have to cut our child’s tail, I’ll protect them from any danger it may cause them”

Julian squeezed Garak tightly. Then he giggled. “Do y’know what I just realized?”

“No, what?”

“We were so caught up in our baby’s tail, that we forgot to find out the most important part.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, our child’s gender of course.”

 

A few moments later they were back in the infirmary’s private room and the 3D ultrasound was pulled up. It was rotated toward the baby’s genital area.

“Congratulations,” Jabara said, “It’s a baby girl!”

Julian and Garak smiled at each other and hugged.

“Now we can pick out a name!” Julian said excitedly. He moved to jump off the examination table and something clattered onto the floor.

“What’s that?” Garak asked?

“Oh yeah,” Julian said sheepishly, “apparently the entire station knows we’re having a baby. Captain Sisko approved a new uniform for my comfort, Jadzia gave me a pattern.”

“Ah,” Garak said, “In retrospect it makes sense that Odo was not surprised when I told him about the ultrasound”

“You told him?!?”

“Well he apparently knew already so it doesn’t really matter my dear doctor. Besides, Odo is the only person on this station that I almost fully trust… besides you of course.

“But here, I will take that data stick and get started on your new uniform. We certainly cannot leave you in discomfort when we have a completely doable solution in our possession”

Garak turned to leave the room and Julian sighed with a mixture of exasperation and endearment.

“I love you Garak,” He said, rather softly.

But Garak heard, and as he left through the door, he smiled.


	7. Don't Ruin the Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The DS9 crew is planning a baby shower for Julian and Garak and Sisko has one requirement: Don't ruin the surprise. Odo is tasked with sending out the invitations but when Quark distracts him hilarious consequences ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hilarious consequences ensue" is one of my favorite phrases to use. I got it from my Latin prof who used it a lot; mainly when he was summarizing Greek and Roman myth and plays and etc. I think it's *definitely* the best way to describe what happens in this chapter

“So,” Sisko said excitedly, rubbing his hands together, “ Is everything on schedule?”

Dax looked at the list on her PADD; half the items checked off.

“Let’s see, the conference room has been reserved for 16:00 five days from now… I’ve got the shipment of vegetables, meats, chocolate… et cetera that you wanted ordered, that’s getting here in four- why are we not just using food from the replicator again?”

“A dish is only as good as its ingredients, Dax.” Sisko said patiently, “and the best ingredients are non replicated ones.”

“Right…” Dax looked down at her PADD again, scrolling through the bullet points. “ Oh! Kira, Miles and Keiko are all working on decorations- they had to replace Odo with Keiko- apparently he wanted all the streamers and balloons to be beige and made a sign that said “It Is A Baby” since he is “unable to create the traditional signage because we don’t know what gender it is.”

“Sounds like our Constable.”

“Oh yeah, although personally, I would have loved to have had that sign up at one of my baby showers, some of them were just so _awkward_.”

Sisko smiled at that. “They can be can’t they? How are the invitations coming?”

“Ah yes!” Jadzia said pressing a few buttons on the PADD. “Keiko created the initial design, it’s very cute” She held up the PADD to Sisko to reveal a teddy bear in a diaper on a soft blue background with the words “You’re Invited” written in pink above the bear and smaller pink letters on the side giving the details of the event.

“Wonderful! Very traditional; its perfect! And how is the guest list coming?”

“I think we’ve got everything figured out, there were a few arguments about who to invite but everyone seems to have come to agreement”

“Well let’s hear it.”

“You and me, obviously, as well as Miles and Keiko,” Jadzia said counting off on her fingers, “Kira and Odo, Nurse Jabara, Jake and Nog, Quark and Rom…. and Garak and Julian of course”

“Not Julian’s parents?” Sisko asked, surprised, “I mean, I know we couldn’t invite Garak’s father and mother since we don’t know who they are but we could easily reach out to the Bashirs’.”

“You know,” Jadzia said, looking around secretively, “Julian hasn’t even _told_ them he’s pregnant!”

“Really!”

“Personally, I think their relationship is pretty strained. I came to the decision that it would probably be better not to invite them. Of course we could always _ask_ him-“

“No. No.” Sisko said quickly, “We _can’t_ ruin the surprise.”

“Whatever you say,” Jadzia said with a small smile.

“Well, I think everything is going according to plan. Thanks, for helping out Dax.”

“No problem, but don’t you think this should fall into Kira’s job description? I mean she _is_ second in command.”

“You know how Major Kira feels about Garak. Of course I’d never expect her to make anything harder for Julian, but I figured we shouldn’t risk any resentment… you know how Kira gets when she’s um… _passionate_ about something.” That was about the most flattering way Sisko could describe the less positive aspects of Kira’s fiery personality.

“That’s certainly one way to put it.”  

“I have faith in you, we’re going to make this the greatest baby shower this station has ever had! Just DON’T. RUIN. THE SURPRISE.” Sisko put a finger to his lips.

“Yes sir.” Jadzia said, saluting.

“Alright Dax, get back to work, let me know how things progress.”

 

Jadzia left Sisko’s office to find Odo and Kira in an argument outside.

“Now Major, I think my decorating ideas are perfectly appropriate.”

“You wanted all the decorations to be _beige_ Odo. Beige! That is literally the most boring color in existence!”

“Well, I happen to like it. It matches with almost everything, so you can use it for anything without having to worry about aesthetics”

“And what about your SIGN?”

“Well what else was I supposed to write? The Captain said he wanted a simple traditional baby shower, and I can’t exactly use the traditional phrasing if I don’t know what gender the child is. I could only use close wording.”

“But “ _IT IS A BABY_ ”!?! Odo, we all know it’s a baby!”

“And we’d also all know if it was a boy or a girl if I was able to write that on the sign so what’s the difference in-

“Ah, Dax,” Odo said, seeing Jadzia leaning against the nearby wall watching the show, “Please tell Major Kira that my design sense is perfectly fine and to let me back on decorating duty!”

“And tell Odo he needs to find something else to do so that he won’t ruin this shower!” Kira butted in.

“Odo, as umm, _unique_ as your sense of aesthetics is, I think it would be better for you to find something else to help out with. But…” Jadzia said as he was about to protest “ I think we will be putting your sign up.”

“Jadzia you can’t be serious,” Kira said.

“Oh I am, Major. I think it will be the perfect finishing touch, in fact, I’m hoping to get one of those when _I_ finally have a child, Odo.”

Now, _that_ Odo did not expect. “I er, I’ll be happy to, um thank you, Dax.”  Odo was finally able to get out.

“But right now, you _can_ help me with something, I need you to get all of these invitations out.” She showed Odo her PADD. “This invitation goes out to everyone on this list _but_ Julian and Garak. And _this,”_ She pressed a few buttons and a simpler message that said “Meet in the conference room Stardate 5760.2 at 16:00, Jadzia” popped up, “Goes to the two of them. We can’t ruin the surprise so _don’t_ mess up… or else” She grinned mischievously, “Alright, I’ve gotta get back to work in the lab,” Dax continued cheerily “Be good you two.”

 

Odo was back in the security office and had finally finished organizing the past days’ reports. Good. Now it was time to start getting the invitations for Julian and Garak’s baby shower out. Dax had sent him both invitations over to his computer and he pulled them up, along with the guest list.

“Hmph, Well we might as well get all the guests out of the way first, then send out the special ones to Garak and Dr. Bashir.”

As he was selecting computer addresses to send the invitations out to the guests, Quark rushed into the office.

“Not now Quark,” Odo said not looking up.

“But Odo this is REALLY important! I think there’s criminal activity going on at my bar.”

“You mean your standard business practices?”

“Nononono, I’ve been doing everything perfectly legally for at _least_ the past week. I’m talking about someone cheating at Dabo.”

“Oh the _tragedy_ … don’t you think someone might have just gotten lucky?”

“For the past six nights? Even in non-rigged Dabo- which I definitely don’t have in _my_ bar- the odds of doing that well are _astronomical_. Odo c’mon PLEASE I’m begging you here.” Quark moved up to the desk and put his hands on it, leaning forward.

Odo continued typing- no reaction to the dramatics. “Quark I am too busy to…. Oh _no_ ”

“What?”

“I pressed the wrong button… I was sending out invitations to Julian and Garak’s baby shower and while you were distracting me I s _ent it to the two of them_.”

“Well now you know they’ll definitely know to come, what’s the problem there?”

“Quark…” Odo said, a warning tone coming up into his voice, “ _it was supposed to be a surprise.”_

“Oh hue-mons and their surprises,”  Quark said flippantly, “it’s not a big deal they’ll get over it.”

“That very well may be, but _I’m_ the one that’s going to get into trouble for it.” He stood up, “Come on, you’re helping me delete the invitation before one of them gets to the computer.”

“Oh, no it was your fault I’m playing no part in this.”

“Well then I don’t suppose you’ll mind an inspection of your Dabo wheel?” Odo asked innocently.

Quark jumped a bit at the threat. “W-well come now constable there’s no need to inspect _that_ its-“

“If Dr. Bashir and Garak get that invitation, you’re going to have to deal with a lot more than me inspecting your Dabo wheel Quark.”

Now it was Quark’s turn to stand. He rose so quickly he almost knocked the various PADDs and data sticks off of Odo’s desk. “Well why are you just standing here, Odo, we’ve gotta delete that invitation; we can’t _ruin_ the surprise now can we?”

 

Odo and Quark were around a corner, looking at the door to Julian’s quarters. “ _Well, you’re the boss, what do we do_?” Quark whispered.

“Dr. Bashir is in the infirmary, the computer knows that much. But Garak doesn’t have a com badge… at least one that can be tracked, and his shop was closed. He could be in their quarters, or somewhere else in the station entirely.”

“Thanks for the info, but unfortunately I knew that already, tell me something I don’t”

Before Odo could respond and potentially start another spat, he felt a tap on his leg. He glanced down and saw little Molly O’Brien looking up at him.

“What are you doing?” She asked, “This is Uncle Julian’s hallway.”

“Well… ummm… we’re…..”

“Planning a surprise for your Uncle Julian!” Quark interrupted.

“A surprise?”

“Yep, so you have to keep it a secret.”

“Daddy and Mommy say not to listen to you.” Molly said gravely.

“Oh, I mean, um… _Odo help me out here_ ”

“Normally, you shouldn’t listen to Quark” Odo said, getting down at Molly’s level.

“Hey-“ Quark protested.

“But I’m with him this time, and I’m sure that the Chief- uh you’re daddy and mommy think you should listen to me, I’m the chief of security after all, it’s my job to keep you safe.”

“Daddy says you have the creativity of a bowl of _gak_ ”

Odo was a bit taken aback; that was a bit harsh, even for the Chief. He would have to have a talk with him. “That… that may be what your daddy thinks, but that has nothing to do with whether  I’m trustworthy or not.”

“I know, that’s just what Daddy said.”

This was beginning to become frustrating. Why were small children so illogical?

“Hey, maybe you could help us out,” Quark said when it was clear Odo was going to take a while to reply. “You’ve been to your Uncle Julian’s quarters before right?”

“Yep, lots. He always gives me candy when mommy and daddy go out on date night.”

“Right… well could you go ring the bell and see if Uncle Garak is home?”

“Mr. Garak’s not my uncle silly, he and Uncle Julian aren’t married yet! But mommy says they will be soon! Uncle Julian has Mr. Garak’s baby in his tummy.”

“Could you ring the bell and see if _Mr._ Garak is home yet then?” Quark said, his patience beginning to run out.

“Ok.”

“Don’t let him know we’re here if he’s home Molly,” Odo called to her as she walked up to the doorway.

Molly rang the bell, then waited a few moments before typing in an access code and entering the quarters.

Quark and Odo looked at each other in surprise. This just got a whole lot easier.

Molly came skipping back after a few minutes. “Nope, Mr. Garak’s not home. Neither is Uncle Julian. Their quarters are _messy_. Mommy would never let me get my room that bad.”

“Did you lock up?” Odo asked.

“Nope. I forgot oops.”

“Well that’s just fine, we need it unlocked. Why don’t you go back home dear,  and remember this is _our secret_ okay?” Odo said, trying to look as serious as possible, which wasn’t very hard.

“Okay!” Molly said brightly and skipped off towards the replimat.

“Cute kid.” Quark said dryly.

“That doesn’t matter right now; go in and delete that invitation quickly, before one of them gets back!”

“Why do _I_ have to do the risky bit?”

“I know you know enough about hacking into computers to do it more quickly than I can with less of a trace, Quark. Now go.” Odo looked pointedly at Quark as he said the last two words. Getting the unspoken message, Quark hurried into Julian’s quarters.

It really was a mess. Blankets in various piles on the floor, pillows strewn all over the place. Food piled up in some obvious (and probably not so obvious) places. Yarn and knitting needles and tiny crocheted clothing were everywhere. Quark couldn’t even figure out where the bed was.  Getting across the room to the computer was no easy task either. He kept bumping his shins into seemingly invisible hard surfaces. He ended up slamming his knee with a crash against what must have been the coffee table, and the sound of many cups and dishes clattering rang throughout the room. He swore under his breath.

“Shhhhhh!” Odo said from the hallway.

“You try getting through this disaster” Quark muttered under his breath, louder than he intended.

“I heard that!”

Finally Quark made it to the computer and began the hacking process. Thank goodness it was a personal computer and not a Starfleet issued one, this would make it so much easier. He began to type, going as quickly as possible.

“Oh Garak!” He heard Odo say loudly. “Fancy seeing you here!”

“I live here.” Garak said “Now excuse me but I’ve had a rough day and am looking forward to the simple creature comforts of home.”

“Oh yes of course but umm… I have a few things I need your advice on first.”

Quark would have to trust that Odo would be able to distract Garak long enough for him to get the job done. His Dabo wheel- and many other not-so-legally working devices- depended on it!

He turned his attention back to the computer and got to work. Thirty seconds later, he got into Julian and Garak’s messages. The invitation was the most recent piece of mail and still unopened. They were in luck. Quark selected it.

“Computer, delete this message.” He whispered.

“ _Message deleted_.” Good.

“Computer, exit”

The computer exited out of the messages program.

Quark listened. He could still hear Odo talking to Garak about some nonsensical tech issue he was having. There was still time.

“Computer, off” He said. The computer turned off. He had done it. Now he just had to get out of this mess of a living quarters. He had made kind of a path the fortunately blended in with all the other paths that Julian and Garak must have made just to get to what Quark assumed was their bed and the bathroom. Hopefully it would be easier this time.

It was in fact much quicker getting back then going to the computer and he didn’t crash into anything either. Now was the moment of truth. Hopefully Odo had kept Garak out of the line of sight of the door. Quark took a breath- it was now or never -and stepped out. Garak had his back to him a few yards away and didn’t seem to hear the automatic doors opening. Thank goodness for Cardassians’ poor hearing. He gave a thumbs up to Odo and slunk away as Odo made an excuse and followed him down the hallway.

“That was close.” Quark said.

“But you did it?”

“Of course I did Odo, do you have any faith in me?’

Odo harrumphed sourly but his expression was soft. “Thank you Quark… I um… I couldn’t have done that without your help. Don’t umm… Don’t expect an inspection of your bar anytime soon.” Turning away, somewhat embarrassed , Odo quickly walked towards the security office, the opposite direction of Quark’s Bar. The baby shower would still be a surprise to the guests of honor and everything turned out fine for everybody involved.

“See,” Quark thought as he watched Odo walk away. “He _does_ like me!”


End file.
